Design of steering system approaching to the Ackermann principle

In this study, the design and optimization of the steering mechanism of a four-wheeled front axle steering vehicle was carried out. A pericycloid structure mechanism has been proposed to ensure appropriate wheel angles. By considering the Ackermann guidance error in the optimization studies, the objective functions derived from the kinematic data to be followed by the guidance mechanism were minimized. The minimization process was carried out with a genetic algorithm in the MATLAB environment. The wheel angles created by the original mechanism were calculated using subprograms in the MATLAB environment and the optimization process was carried out with the genetic algorithm. Genetic optimization was performed for the commonly used rack and pinion mechanism and the unique pericycloid mechanism proposed in this thesis study. With the help of the optimum values obtained, the ideal values of the steering mechanisms were compared with each other. Ackermann steering error was calculated to be a maximum of 10.55° for the rack and pinion mechanism and a maximum of 0.55° for the original steering mechanism at maximum steering angles. Taking the ideal values into consideration, the designs of both steering mechanisms were carried out in the Solidworks program. With the help of the studies and optimization algorithms developed, the steering mechanism of a four-wheeled vehicle with front axle steering was designed. The designed unique guidance mechanism can be used in low-speed vehicle systems moving in narrow spaces due to its high position accuracy and position stability.